At the cost of USD one million, the Getty, with the cooperation of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities and the World Monuments Fund, has created a system for matching geographic information and historical research in a land whose history is vast and varied.

The project is in two-folds. First, it will enable scholarly access to every archaeological site in Jordan. Second, it will aid in the protection of ancient sites.

MEGA lists over 10,000 sites of archaeological and historic importance, from the neolithic to Ottoman times. Information the integrity of these sites was formally listed only in a local Jordanian database, with no connection to the Internet.

The project’s website will open next month to a group of authorised users. The intent is to open it to a wider and wider group as time goes on, as well as to spread the experience with the system to others who might be interested in implementing it in their country or area. Iraq, which was originally the target of an earlier version of the project but was given up in favour of Jordan due to instability, has indicated a desire to revisit the possibility of implementing the system in that country, according to Qais Hussein Rashid, Iraq’s Director of the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage.